Most obvious answer to stop suicides still being missed

Want to save lives? Get the message right first

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 29, 2019

If you visit this site often, I am sure it has been showing my frustration more and more. Glad that I am not doing a podcast, because holding back words I should not use in public, is getting harder and harder.

I am sick and tired of hearing another head of yet another department make the same mistake of miscommunication out of ignorance.

Another New York Officer committed suicide. He was the fifth since June. This is the message from NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill.

“You may not know this, and it may be hard to imagine, but you are not out there all by yourself,” he said. “More people than you know, who wear the same uniform as you do, share the same doubts and fears and struggles that you do. Seeking help is strength. Talking about your problems is strength. Acknowledging you need a place to turn is strength. There is no shame here ― only a promise to provide you with the help and support you need and deserve.”

In a tweet, the NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association called the officer’s death “terrible news,” asking for prayers for his friends, family and colleagues.
read it here

The part that they need to hear is that while there are others suffering, they are also still serving. They are still risking their lives to save strangers because lives matter. That includes those they serve with and are willing to die for too.

If they understand what PTSD is, then there is no stigma. If they understand what their job is, then there is no reason to deny they need help. If there is no reason to deny they need help, they will stop killing themselves and start helping each other heal.

 After 37 years, I would like to finally be able to retire. Considering how the most obvious answer to this heartbreaking outcome keeps getting missed, I doubt I ever will be able to.